Drier for fabrics or the like



April 111, 3950 R. C. MORRIS DRIER FOR FABRICS OR THE LIKE Filed Jan. 7, 1947 WITNESSES:

INVENTOR Roger f Herr is ATTORN EY Patented Apr. 11, 1950 DRIER FOR FABRICS OR THE LIKE Robert 0. Morris, Mansfield, Ohio, asslgnor to Westinghouse Electric Corporation, East Pittsburgh, Pa., a corporation of Pennsylvania Application January 7, 1947, Serial No. 720,603

4 Claims. 1

My invention relates to apparatus for drying fabrics or the like and, more particularly, to a domestic clothes drier of the type heated by combustion of fuel. It is an object of the invention to provide improved apparatus of this kind.

It is a further object of the invention to provide improved means for circulating and heating th gases which are passed over the fabrics to be dried.

It is a still further object of the invention to provide an improved gas-fired unit for heating and circulating air employed for dryin fabrics in a drier of the type set forth.

These and other objects are effected by my invention as will be apparent from the following description and claims taken in connection with the accompanying drawings, forming a part of this application, in which:

Fig. 1 is a front view in section of a domestic clothes drier constructed and arranged in accordance with my invention, and taken along the line I--I of Fig. 2;

Fig. 2 is a longitudinal view in section of the drier shown in Fig. 1 and taken along the line II--II thereof; and

Fig. 3 is a section taken along the line III-III of Fi 1.

Reference will now be had to the drawing wherein I have elected to disclose my invention applied to a domestic type clothes drier having an outer housing structure, generally indicated at I and including a back wall Ii and a front Wall I2, the upper portion of the latter being inclined rearwardly, as shown at i3. The inclined portion l3 of the front wall is provided with an access opening l4 for the ingress and egress of fabrics to and from a basket structure, generally indicated at l5, and arranged within the outer housing I0. The basket structure l5 includes the rigid rear wall l6, and a perforate side wall I! generally of cylindrical configuration and provided interiorly with radially-extending vanes is for elevating and tumblin the fabrics contained within the basket. A few of the perforations in the side wall I! are shown at 20, but it will be understood that substantially the entire side wall is perforate. The basket I5 is provided with a relatively large access opening ill at the front side thereof which communicates with the access opening of the housing. A suitable chute 2| is carried by the front wall l2 for directing fabrics, dropped through the opening M, to the opening IS in the basket. A domestic drier of this general type is disclosed and claimed in the copending application of Francis Broglie, Serial No. r

Rotation of the basket l5 about a generally horizontal axis is effected by a motor 24in any wellunderstood manner. As shown, the motor 24 includes a shaft shown at 25 having a pulley 26 secured thereto and belted, as shown at 21, to a sheave 28, the latter being keyed or otherwise fixed to the shaft 22 of the basket.

The basket I! is rotated within a dryin chamber 3| which is encompassed by a cylindrical baflle 32 extending from the rear wall H to the chute 2| and preferably secured thereto. The baille 32 is provided with an inlet opening 33 for heated gases and a discharge opening 34 for the gases and moisture abstracted from the fabrics. A suitable conduit 35 connects the discharge opening with the surrounding atmosphere.

In accordance with my invention, the heated gases employed for vaporizing moisture from the fabrics are circulated and tempered in a heat exchanger casing structure, generally indicated at 36 and disposed below the bailie 32. The heat exchanger casing 36 includes front and rear walls 31 and 38 which extend upwardly from a base 39 and engage, at their upper ends, the baflle 32. One end of the casing 36 is closed by a wall 4| and the opposite end of the casing 36 carries a fan or blower housing 42. A partition 43, generally arcuate in configuration, divides the casing 36 into a combustion chamber 44 and a heating space 45 disposed thereabove. The latter communicates with the interior of the fan housing 42 and receives gases which are circulated by circumferentially-spaced blades 43a formed on the fan rotor 44. The latter is secured to the shaft 25 of the motor for rotation thereby. The rear wall 38 of the casing is provided with an air inlet opening 46 communicating with the atmosphere within the housing In and through which air passes for circulation by the blades "43a. Air from the ambient atmosphere enters the housing I through a suitable opening indicated at 40 in thefront wall I 2.

A gas burner of any well-understood construction, and indicated at 41, is disposed within the combustion chamber 44 and functions to heat the partition 43. Secondary air for supporting combustion is admitted to the combustion chamber 44 through suitable openings 43 formed in the front wall 31 of the casing and the hot products of combustion are discharged from the combustion chamber through a conduit 49 which terminates in the air inlet opening 46 in the blower housing 42.

During operation of the drier, the motor 24 operates to rotate the basket l5 at a speed of approximately 50 R. P. M. for the tumbling of the fabrics within the basket IS. The rotating blower rotor 42 functions to withdraw air from the atmosphere within the housing through the opening 46 and for mixing this air with the hot products of combustion discharged from the conduit 49. I have found that the temperature of this mixture is too low for drying purposes, as the quantity of cool air in the mixture, and necessary for properly drying the fabrics, greatly exceeds the quantity of combustion products. The mixture is then passed over the heated partition l3 and its temperature is increased to the value optimum for drying, at which temperature the gases enter the drying chamber 3! through the opening 33. The dry heated gases rapidly abstract moisture from the fabrics and the humidified gases are discharged to the ambient atmosphere through the duct 36.

From the foregoing description, it will be apparent that I have most efilciently utilized the heat generated by the gas burner 41 in providing a drying gas of proper temperature for the ab straction of moisture from the fabrics being dried. In order to provide the proper quantity of drying gas, air is added to the combustion products so that the temperature of the mixture is substantially reduced. This temperature is increased by pmsing the mixture in heat transfer relation with the combustion chamber. The quantity of gas and the temperature at which the gases enter the drying chamber may be fixed at values which are optimum by predetermining the amount of air to be mixed with the products of combustion and the area of the heat exchanging surface associated with the combustion chamber over which the mixture is passed. The heat exchanger may be of low cost construction as all products of combustion are circulated to the dry-,

ing chamber and any heat radiated to the air within the housing I is recovered as preheat, it being understood that the air which is mixed with the products of combustion is drawn from the interior of the housing l0. Loss of heat through the walls of the housing Hi to the ambient atmosphere may be retarded by a suitable lining of heat-insulating material (not shown) applied to the inner surfaces of the walls of the housing ll.

While I have shown my invention in but one form, it will be obvious to those skilled in the art that it is not so limited, but is susceptible of various changes and modifications without departing from the spirit thereof.

What I claim is:

1. In apparatus for drying fabrics, the combination of means defining a drying chamber for containing the fabrics to be dried, means defining a combustion chamber, fuel-burning means disposed within the combustion chamber, a fan, a conduit for conveying products of combustion directly from the combustion chamber to the fan before discharge of said products of combustion to the drying chamber, means for conveying air from the ambient atmosphere to said fan for mixture with said products of combustion before being discharged to said drying chamber and means for conveying said mixture from the fan in heat transfer relation with the combustion chamber and thence to said dryi'ng chamber.

2. In apparatus for drying fabrics, the combination of means including a generally cylindrical baiiie structure for defining a drying chamber in which the fabrics are disposed, a heat exchanger casing structure arranged at one side of the baiiie and having a wall extending longitudinally therewithin for defining a combustion chamber and a heating space within the casing,

fuel-burning means within the combustion chamber, a fan arranged at one end of the casing structure and discharging into the heating space. a conduit for conveying products of combustion from the combustion chamber to the fan. means for conveying air from the ambient atmosphere to the fan for mixture with the products of combustion, said fan discharging the mixture of air and the products of combustion to said heating space for tempering the mixture, means defining a passage for conveying the tempered mixture to the drying chamber and means for discharging said mixture from the drying chamber.

3. In apparatus for drying fabrics, the combination of means including a generally cylindrical baiiie structure for defining a 111 8 chamber in which the fabrics are disposed, heat exchanging means arranged beneath the baiiie and including a casing, a wall extending within the casing and dividing the casing into a combustion chamber and a heating space in heat transfer relation therewith, a fuel burner within the combustion chamber, a fan having an inlet opening for air, a conduit for conveying products of combustion from the combustion chamber to the fan inlet for mixture with the air passing therethrough, said fan discharging the mixture of air and products of combustion to the heatin space for tempering the mixture, said baiiie having an opening therein for conveying said tempered mixture to the drying chamber for the abstraction of moisture from the fabrics, and means for discharging said mixture and moisture abstracted thereby from the drying chamber.

4. In apparatus for drying fabrics, the combination of a housing, a generally cylindrical structure arranged within the housing and having a drying chamber therein, a basket within the drying chamber for receiving the fabrics to be dried and mounted for rotation about a substantially horizontal axis, a motor, means driven by the motor and actuating the basket angularly about its axis for tumbling the fabrics, a heat exchanging structure arranged below the drying chamber and enclosing a combustion chamber and. a heating space in heat transfer relation therewith, a fan having an inlet for conveying air from within the housing to the fan, means for driving the fan, a gas burner disposed within the combustion chamber, a conduit for conveying products of combustion from the combustion chamber to the fan inlet for mixture with the air passing therethrough, said fan discharging the mixture of air and products oi combustion to the heating space for the tempering of the mixture, means defining a passage for conveying the tempered mixture from the heating space to the drying chamber, and means for discharging the mixture from the drying chamber to the atmosphere exterior of said housing.

ROBERT C. MORRIS.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent: 1

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 196,964 Hall Nov. 6, 1877 1,446,994 Sieben Feb. 2'7, 1923 1,524,340 Darrah Jan. 27, 1925 2,235,559 Mayer Mar. 18, 1941 

